Russian police arrest hundreds protesting against Putin pension plan

Russian police detained more than 800 people across Russia on Sunday, including an estimated 354 in St. Petersburg, during the latest wave of protests against the planned raising of the retirement age, The Guardian reports. The protests were called by opposition leader Alexei Navalny, who was jailed for 30 days on August 25, hence stopping him from participating Sunday. Also Navalny’s recent YouTube advertisements for the protests were pulled by Google at the request of Moscow, which claimed they violated Russian election law. The protests took place on the same day as Moscow’s mayoral election, which critics viewed as a sham because genuine opposition candidates were barred from running.